Young buyers weigh options as they struggle to afford today's housing

Sourced By: ABC15 Arizona 

The home search began auspiciously. 

A year ago, Lindsay and Michael Hyland began the hunt for a home in the St. Petersburg, Florida area, where they met and worked as a physical therapist and a financial planner. What they experienced was pure frustration.

"People are coming in with all cash offers," Lindsay Hyland said. "That makes it extremely hard to compete with." 

Fast forward to 2023 and the couple moved to New Jersey to live with family while they search for a home. Except the interest rate increased significantly since last year, from around 5.7% in June of 2022 to 7.5% this June on a 30-year mortgage. That's about a $600 a month increase on their $500,000 home purchase budget with the monthly payment at $3,496 versus $2,902. 

Intent on living within their means, the couple put in an offer on a two-bedroom townhome in Morris Township, New Jersey. 

"You want a place where you don't want to feel you're under water," said Lindsay Hyland, 28, who is expecting the couple's first child in October.

As interest rates rise with no end in sight for the low inventory issues, Gen Z and millennial buyers are making adjustments. According to a Bankratesurvey this spring, the majority of Gen Z and millennial buyers at 82% between the ages of 18 and 42 are willing to make sacrifices to find affordable housing. 

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